Gary Numan on pushing the limits of technology in music

Musician Gary Numan has described how his autism has benefited his music, in an interview about his Tech Legend award from the consumer tech lifestyle T3.

Speaking to Sky News at the event, Numan, who has a form of autism, says he prefers working with computers to people. But rather than being a hindrance, his condition actually benefits him professionally.

He explained: “It’s not because I don’t like people – I do. I don’t socially interact very well. I’m quite clumsy and awkward, and really, really uncomfortable.”

He believes that the characteristics of his autism – including obsessive tendencies – are a brilliant thing to have in the music industry. “If you’re doing music for a career you need to be incredibly focused and know exactly where you’re going and let absolutely nothing swerve you,” he said.

According to the T3 website: “We don’t easily give out the label of Tech Legend here at T3, but our judges and everyone else involved in the awards can honestly say it’s well deserved in this case – our Tech Legend for 2017 is Gary Numan, musical innovator and a pioneer of electronic sounds.

“With 20 albums and a glittering career behind him, the T3 Tech Legend award might not take pride of place on Gary’s mantelpiece but we’re happy to bestow the honour on him.”